Too Sad To Cry
by LouiseX
Summary: Disaster strikes leaving Linka feeling lost. A short W/L fic
1. Chapter 1

**Too Sad To Cry**

**Summary**: Disaster strikes leaving Linka feeling lost. A short W/L fic

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the show, I'm just borrowing it for a while and will make no money whatsoever from this fic.

* * *

**Chapter One**

The Geo-cruiser rocked, buffeted by both the strong winds produced by the storm, and the energy beams that lanced through the sky from Blight's ship.

"She's crazy!" Gi exclaimed, struggling to keep hold of the controls while dodging the attack.

Beside her, Wheeler was proving himself to be an able co-pilot. "You've only just worked that out?"

"We need to get out of this weather front before we are struck by lightening."

Wheeler rolled his eyes at Kwame's comment. "What is this? International State the Obvious Day?"

"I can't get away from her." Gi's voice showed her rising fear a little too clearly. "She counteracts everything I do."

"It is probably Mal flying." Linka replied, sure that only a computer's reflexes could account for the manoeuvres the other ship was making.

A lucky shot scraped along their hull with a sickening screech causing a terrified Suchi to hide his face against Ma-Ti's neck.

"Kwame, take over." Wheeler got out of his seat and made his way over to the door to open it. "Gi, bring us around."

The young African did as he was bid but Linka's eyes went wide and there was a hint of panic in her voice. "Wheeler what do you think you are doing?"

Wheeler grinned at his lovely friend, and wedged himself against the doorframe so that he could lean out as the water planeteer turned them. "What do you think I'm doing Babe? I'm returning FIRE!"

His ring burst into life and a beam of red shot out towards Blight's ship. It found its mark but did little more than scratch the surface.

"Get closer." Wheeler called. "I'm gonna take that sucker out!"

"Yankee be careful!" The Russian admonished him, annoyed once again by his recklessness.

Ignoring her, Wheeler's ring responded to his command once more and this time it hit one of the enemy craft's engines causing billows of black smoke to rise from it.

Unfortunately the mad doctor was still able to make one last parting shot, and she made it count. One of the geo-cruiser's wings was suddenly half gone and they lost sight of the fleeing criminal as they began to plummet towards the ocean below.

"WIND." Linka struggled to level them off as she concentrated her power around the falling craft. In the naturally violent winds of the storm it was that much more difficult.

Ma-Ti spoke. "We need to call Captain Planet!"

"I cannot!" Linka exclaimed. They were still a long way up but there was no guarantee that their hero friend could catch them before they hit the water. "Kwame can you make land for us? I do not know how long I can hold us up here!"

The Earth Planeteer shook his head and replied guiltily. "The Ocean bed is too deep here, too far away for me to control, and I do not know what damage I might do by trying it. You must take us back towards the land, and shallower waters."

"I've got incoming!" The Asian girl shrieked, indicating a missile that had no doubt come from Blight's vessel. "She's trying to finish us off!"

"I cannot move us away fast enough!" Linka's words were partially drowned out by the impact of the small projectile taking out their other wing.

The wind planeteer screamed in horror. "**Wheeler!**"

The door had still been open and the last shake had loosed his grip and thrown him out, but not before his skull cracked against the side.

The American fell unconscious into the sea below and the wind planeteer was powerless to do anything to help...

* * *

**To be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Gi turned at the sound of Linka's cry and was just in time to see the red head disappear below the edge of the craft.

"He is out cold!" A frightened Linka exclaimed. "He will drown!"

Leaving the controls, which were largely useless anyway now that the wind planeteer was holding them up, Gi rushed to the door, and with almost no hesitation dived in after their team mate.

"Can you take us down?" Kwame's calm voice penetrated Linka's rising panic but she shook her head.

"We can go down, but I will not be able to lift us up again." She swallowed. "I cannot hold us here for long either, I..."

"I have called some of our sea friends for help." The youngest planeteer said. There was fear in his voice but he was obviously still thinking clearly. "Gi is a strong swimmer, she will keep herself and Wheeler afloat until the dolphins arrive."

Kwame nodded in approval. "The sooner we get to land, the sooner we can come back for them."

His voice was steady and reassuring and Linka nodded, though her face was pale and Ma-Ti could tell how frightened she was for their friends.

Knowing that time was of the essence for their team mates, every moment of that trip seemed to take forever but Linka couldn't move them any faster on her own. By the time they reached land, the wind planeteer was near to passing out from exhaustion.

"Stay here with Linka." Kwame ordered. "I will find us a boat."

"I am coming with you!" Linka exclaimed, thinking it was bad enough that she'd had to let Gi go after their fiery friend alone without abandoning them now. If she felt a hint of jealousy at the thought of the Asian being the one to save Wheeler, she refused to acknowledge it.

"I will not leave you behind, I promise." Kwame reassured her. "But it might take some time to find someone willing to take us out in that storm, you need to rest for as long as you can."

Linka turned her head away, knowing he was right but hating to feel so useless.

While Kwame was gone, Ma-Ti tried to keep up a flow of cheerful chatter but the Russian did not feel up to responding and he soon ran out of things to say.

Linka was trying not to think about her two friends out on the freezing ocean in less than ideal conditions, but she could think of nothing else. She couldn't quite shake the idea that **she** was the one who had failed, that if she'd been stronger, more in control of her ring, they would all be there together.

_I will work harder, train to be better..._ She promised silently. _Just let them be ok!_

"I have found someone willing to take us, and the local coast guard has already set out." Kwame's voice announced, and the wind planeteer nearly sobbed with relief. She was still exhausted and had completely lost track of time – it felt like days since she'd last seen Wheeler – but she would ignore her body's weakness until her friends were safe, she wouldn't fail them again by slowing them down.

Trying not to show her impatience as she was made to put on a life jacket, the Russian positioned herself near the front of the boat in the hope of being the first to spot their lost companions.

As it happened, the first thing they saw were the dolphins jumping playfully around the lifeboat as the rescuers pulled someone on board and wrapped them in blankets.

"They have found them!" Linka exclaimed, trying to see if they'd already retrieved the other member of their team. The pitching of the water made it difficult however and the boats owner had to slow down to approach the other craft without becoming a menace to the happy dolphins.

One of the beautiful creatures broke away from the rest and came to greet them, she seemed to want Linka's attention and the wind planeteer laughed, reaching out to pat her. "Thank you my friend. Ma-Ti, can you tell her we are grateful for their help?"

"I… I have Linka but she…" The young man looked pale. "She knows somehow… that is… she is trying to comfort you…"

The colour drained from Linka's face and she looked back to the lifeboat. They were close enough now to see that it was Gi that had been pulled from the water, and she was crying.

"Where is Wheeler?" The Russian's voice was too quiet to carry to the other boat over the wind and rain so at first no one answered, but when she repeated it more loudly, her voice taking on a shrill note that matched the fear she was feeling, Gi looked over and met her eyes. She shook her head.

"**Nyet!**" Linka screamed, turning to the small boats owner. "**We must go on, we must find him, they should never have left!**" Kwame tried to put a restraining hand on her arm but she shook him off. "**We need to go now! Tell him!**"

Ma-Ti had tears in his eyes. "It is too late, Linka. The dolphins searched much longer than a human could, he was just gone."

"We have to go back Linka, there is nothing we can do for him now." Kwame spoke gently but it didn't make what he was saying any easier.

She shook her head in denial, sinking down helplessly as her own weakened state caught up with her.

As the dolphins bid them goodbye, the small boats turned towards the shore forcing Linka once more away from where she wanted to be.

* * *

Linka's face was wet from the spray and the rain, the others probably thought it was mixed with tears but it wasn't, she couldn't cry.

Everything felt remote to the young girl, the trip back to the land, the hot drinks that never quite seemed to penetrate the numbness or the cold, Gi's tearful explanations of how she'd looked for their friend until she couldn't feel her limbs and had had to be rescued herself. All of it had an unreal quality to it and Linka was watching it happen as if it was happening to someone else.

When the storm cleared Kwame and Ma-Ti went out to start fixing the Geo-cruiser while the girls continued to recover their strength. They couldn't help but notice how quiet Linka had gotten, but they knew she was grieving and really didn't know what to say to her. Gi had even tried to apologise to her but the Russian had continued to stare at the open fire in the public house they'd been taken to without answering, and she wasn't even sure if she'd heard.

The water planeteer was still crying quietly when the boys got back and Linka looked like she hadn't moved. "We cannot fix the 'cruiser here, we have called Commander Clash, he will be here in a couple of hours."

Gi nodded, Linka continued to stare at the fire.

The Commander made a great rescue service and he was always more than happy to help Gaia, so the planeteers felt little compunction in calling on him, besides this was exceptional circumstances.

Clash airlifted them back to their home and offered to stay and help them with repairs, which was fortunate since it was usually Wheeler that assisted Gi with putting their equipment back together. He'd noted the young Russian's condition but had thought better of saying anything.

On arriving in the Crystal Chamber, Linka surprised them all by making a sudden announcement. "Ma-Ti and I will take the eco-sub back to the area where we nearly crashed. We owe it to Wheeler to bring his body back and Ma-Ti can track his ring."

The coldness of her voice chilled them and even Gaia shivered slightly. "Kwame can go with Ma-Ti." She offered softly and the Russian shocked her again.

"I was not asking for permission. Ma-Ti, you have quarter of an hour to dry off and change, if you are not ready I will leave without you." Linka turned and walked from the Crystal Chamber without looking back.

The other planeteers looked at Gaia for guidance, they'd never seen Linka like that and it was hard to know what to do for the best. "Let her deal with it in her own way. Ma-Ti are you alright to accompany her on your own or would you like one of the others to go too?"

"I will be fine Gaia, thank you." He still sounded choked up but then none of them would be able to deal with what had happened overnight. "Please look after Suchi for me though, he does not like being in the sub."

The little simian skittered over to the spirit and she made herself solid enough for him to climb up to her shoulder and nestle there. "Gi you should take a hot shower and get some sleep."

Thoughtless humans and eco-villains made Gaia angry, sometimes they upset her, but losing Wheeler seemed to have made her incredibly tired, as if all her years were suddenly weighing down on her.

Ma-Ti led them unerringly to Wheeler's ring as it lay in the deepest part of the ocean, he could only be relieved that it wasn't attached to a corpse. He knew Linka had wanted to find him and perhaps she needed to see that he was gone, but the youngest planeteer had no desire to see the lifeless body of his best friend.

It was dark down there, they needed flashlights to avoid the rocks and without Ma-Ti's ability they would never have found the fire ring. The pressure was also so great that they couldn't go outside and had had to use mechanical means to retrieve the ring.

Linka sat staring at it as she cradled it in her hand. Up until then she'd been all business, no nonsense, Linka with just a brittle edge to the way she spoke. Now all the fight had gone out of her.

"What do we do now?" Ma-Ti asked softly, as if he thought she would suddenly turn on him. "We can keep looking…"

Linka shook her head.

"Back to Hope Island?"

She nodded.

When they docked back in their home port, the young girl didn't move, nor did she show any signs that she'd noticed their arrival.

"Linka? We are home." Ma-Ti prompted gently, and when there was no response. "We need to report back to Gaia."

The wind planeteer rose obediently and made her way to their command centre, her young friend trailing nervously behind her. She held the ring out for the spirit to take but she was staring right through her, and her eyes were still dry.

"Thank you both." Gaia took the ring and suggested they got some rest.

Again Linka obeyed but as Kwame commented later, she seemed to be suffering from some form of delayed shock.

* * *

The next few days went by in a blur for Linka. She felt completely numb, detached from her feelings and everything that was going on around her.

The others were having whispered conversations, most of which were about what to do about the wind planeteer's current condition. The only thing they could agree on was that, however long it took for her to recover, they couldn't abandon her.

Linka wasn't sleeping properly either, whenever she closed her eyes she couldn't help seeing what she considered to be Wheeler's final moments. _He gave her one of his cheeky grins and then something slammed into them, the ship juddered and his head whipped back against the door frame. There was a sickening crack and his eyes rolled up into his head just before he fell, lifeless into the churning waters below._

Over and over she saw it, and no matter how hard she tried to recall something before, some happy image of him, it was all she could conjure, even his voice seemed to be lost in the fog.

And yet she still couldn't grieve, no tears, no sobs… not even anger. Linka had no energy, she just wanted to sleep and let the world fade away. If she could have chosen to go to sleep and not wake up again, she would have done… but doing something to cause it? That took effort and a willpower she just didn't have.

Gi would come and tell her to get up and put food in front of her and though the Russian didn't need any assistance with what she was ordered to do, if no one told her to do it, she would just sit there and stare into the distance. About the only thing she did of her own volition was to visit the bathroom, but that seemed to be instinct rather than a choice.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This is the last chapter, I told you it was short. Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows, I'm glad you've enjoyed it and hope you'll like the ending too... and do let me know what you think ;)

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Five days after Linka returned the fire ring to the spirit of the Earth, Hope Island received a visitor.

Pontus' voice was always welcome to Gi and since his arrival was the first good thing that had happened since the storm began, she was even happier than usual. She ran outside to greet him and the others followed, all but Linka, in fact even when she heard the water planeteer scream, she remained impassive.

"I think you lost something." Pontus called out cheerfully as Gi rushed to greet him.

She returned his hug but looked at him blankly, a question in her eyes. The Oceanian was grinning at Kwame and Ma-Ti, who were standing stupefied beside them, and the water planeteer turned her gaze slowly to see what they were staring at. That was when she screamed.

Wheeler laughed. "Gee thanks Gi, I didn't think I looked **that** bad!"

That broke the tension and they quickly moved to welcome their lost companion, bombarding him with questions about his escape from certain death. He laughed again. "Guys, give me a chance to answer!" He was hugging a sobbing Gi, but his thoughts, as normal, were elsewhere. "Where's Linka?"

"In the kitchen. **Linka!**" Gi called, grinning broadly through her tears, sure now that the Russian girl would be drawn from her apathy. She moved away so that Linka would have a clear view of him when she emerged.

If she'd cared enough to sigh, Linka would have done, instead she obeyed the summons silently, not focusing on the group in front of her until she was right on top of them.

Her eyes widened as she saw Wheeler, a look of pure horror on her face, and she stumbled back a few paces shaking her head.

"You might at least pretend to be happy to see me!" The fire planeteer said frowning, clearly hurt by her response.

Kwame laid a hand on his arm and shook his head, saying softly. "She is still in shock Wheeler, she has barely spoken since you disappeared."

"She's been a complete zombie for five days." Gi put in.

Wheeler nodded in understanding and stepped forward, approaching the young girl as one might approach an injured animal. "It's okay Babe, it's just me, I won't hurt you."

She muttered something in Russian and Gaia, who had been watching from the Crystal Chamber, appeared next to the others, tears of happiness in her eyes. "She said you are a ghost, she thinks she is losing her mind."

"I'm real, Beautiful." He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms, pressing his head against hers so that she could feel his warmth. "I'm alive."

She stood rigid, staring out over his shoulder, not quite believing what was happening until Gaia nodded to her, confirming what her senses were refusing to believe. As it finally began to seep in, a huge sob wracked her body and she curled into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder and holding on to him as if her life depended on it.

Wheeler held her tightly, kissing her head and murmuring reassurances. After a few minutes, conscious that they still had an audience, Wheeler scooped her up into his arms and carried her into her cabin, making himself comfortable on her bed with his back to the headboard, and settling her on his lap.

Still sobbing, Linka continued to cuddle into him as if she hadn't noticed the change in position.

Worry, exhaustion and in Wheeler's case, injury, finally took their toll on the young couple and they fell asleep wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

* * *

Wheeler watched his beautiful friend as she slept in his arms, his pleasure at being with her almost overshadowed by his guilt. He had wanted her to miss him, he'd even imagined how she'd run into his arms and declare her undying love… okay he knew that was a bit far fetched but it was a fantasy of his all the same.

Seeing the reality of what his disappearance had put her through though made him feel like the biggest jerk on the planet, and the fact that he had returned as soon as had been possible didn't seem to matter. At the same time he was awed by how his supposed death had effected her and his heart couldn't help but hope that it would make a difference, even a small one, and that they wouldn't go straight back to being 'just good friends'.

Linka sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer, and Wheeler couldn't help but smile, a silly grin crossing his features. He leant down to press a kiss to her temple and her eyes fluttered open.

"Good evening Sleeping Beauty."

The Russian smiled at him but she clearly wasn't properly awake. "Evening?"

"Yeah, I guess we were tired."

"Mmmm." Linka snuggled back down. "I had a terrible nightmare, thank you for coming in to me."

Wheeler hesitated. The last thing he wanted was to distress her but he felt compelled to tell her the truth. "Er… I'm not sure it was a dream Babe… depending on what you're talking about."

She sighed, rubbing her face against his shoulder. "There was a storm and…" She froze as her mind began to clear, then she sat up abruptly, suddenly alarmed, and looked deeply into his eyes. "You were dead!"

He reached up to cradle her face in his hands. "I'm fine. I promise you, I'm here and I'm fine."

"But it really happened…?" She swallowed. He nodded and pulled her back against him, stroking her hair soothingly. There were too many questions she wanted to ask and after a moment they came out as a simple, "How?"

"Apparently Oceanus has colonies all over the world, I guess they didn't want us to know about that." He shrugged and tightened his grip on her. "We weren't that close to one really but luckily for me they had a craft out that way. They picked me up and took me back to their base but I was sick, both from the knock to the head I got and the pressure. I was pretty deep when they found me. Of course they know how to treat that, far better than we do but it still took me a few days before I could tell them who I was and where I needed to be."

He chuckled. "And **then** it took me a while to convince them to let me go, they thought I was just some stupid land lubber who'd tell their secret. I had to convince them to call Oceanus and get Pontus to come get me!"

Linka moved again so that she could look at his face, and to Wheeler's dismay there was fear in her eyes. "Babe what's wrong? I told you, I'm okay!"

"I know." She replied sadly. "But for how long? How long until something else happens, something worse… Wheeler, I thought you were dead! I cannot go through that again, I could not survive it." She shook her head and looked away. "Part of me wants to run away. If I am with people I do not know, I do not have to care for them and if I do not know what is happening to the people I **do** care for, I can just believe they are ok."

"I don't believe that for a minute, you're not a quitter."

"I did not used to be." Tears formed at the edge of Linka's eyes and she buried her face once more in his shoulder to hide them. "Yankee, I do not want to ever feel like that again. I did not care about anything, I just wanted the world to go away and leave me alone. I wished I was with you…"

Wheeler was not unnaturally alarmed. "Don't talk like that! Babe, I'd never want you to give up because of me, but I promise I'll never choose to leave you, not ever!"

"I did not choose it, it was just the way I felt… you were gone and nothing made sense anymore and what we do is so dangerous." She shivered, clinging to him as tightly as she could. "It could happen again."

The American took a breath and made a decision. "Do you want to leave then? I don't really think you'd be happy giving all this up but if you want to… I don't know, live a quiet, normal, danger free life… I'll go with you, if you want me to?"

A smile spread across Linka's face, knowing as she did what it cost him to make such an offer. Hope Island was the only place he'd ever felt that he fit in, the only place he really thought of as home. He most certainly wouldn't have an easy time of it in Russia and there was a good chance that they would struggle almost as badly in America, something he'd promised himself he would never go through again… and yet he was willing, if it made her happy… if it meant they could be together.

"You are very sweet sometimes Yankee moy, but you are right, neither of us would be happy leaving the Planeteers." She reached up to stroke the hair back from his face, gazing lovingly into his eyes. "I will just have to make sure I do not let you out of my sight, perhaps I will tie you up."

He laughed and waggled his eyebrows at her. "That could be fun… so does that mean we're staying?"

Linka nodded. "Unless you ever decide you want to leave… for the record, if I had to choose, I would choose you."

Wheeler didn't need any more encouragement, he brought their lips together in a loving embrace that was the first of many that night. He was determined to show her that love was worth the risk but that he would do his best to protect her heart from any more pain.

Linka was very serious about making the most of the second chance they'd been given and if the prospect of losing him still frightened her a little, she was at least determined that neither of them should ever have any regrets.

When the sun rose on a new day, they were still intent on showing each other their devotion and though Linka was now free to cry, her only tears were ones of joy.

* * *

The End


End file.
